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Article [I.]
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Article [II.]
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

SUBROC
In Germany the public transportation sytem is great. I was stationed there for 3 years and never needed a vehicle. I could take a train from one end of Europe to the other. In Berlin, where I was stationed, I could either take the U-Bahn, subway, or a bus or a taxi where ever I wanted to go.

When I turned 18, 1982, the drinking age was still 18 for beer/wine and 21 for liquer. In 83 NC started raising the age limet 1 year every year until it was 21 for all alcohol. I think they need to go back to the old age limits. I never really saw where it made any difference to raise the age limit.

Weller's Tell It To The Judge MH (Justice)
Weller's Running With The Wind MH (Chase)
JD's In It Again MH (Trouble) 5/1/2009 - 1/3/2012

I don't really care one way or the other really. When I turned 18 in Feb, 1973, the drinking age changed from 21 to 18 a couple weeks later on March 3rd. I find it strange that I remeber the date! It seemed like a big deal at the time.

I just am not sure the military argument holds much water.

My question relating to public transportation in Germany is specific to them having drivers licences at 21. It is easy to have your society wait if they have a means of transport. Imagine a rural kid having to wait until he/she is 21 before they could drive in the United States? They would really be at a disadvantage.

subroc

Article [I.]
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Article [II.]
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

I think that this sort of system would help address an alarming drinking trend where drinking is learned about and experimented with away from the judgment of parents,

Fully Agree - There needs to be a responsible adult in the mix.

As for doing these things everyone discusses - I was driving our new Farmall F-10 in the fields at the age of 9, driving a 2 ton grain truck with no brakes to the elevator at age 13 & could outwork most city types at the age of 15. But that was not unusual for farm kids in those days. SD did not have a state drivers license until 1955 & you could drink 3.2% beer at 18, legally. The only big deal was draft registration & serving.

My grandpa gave me swigs of beer from the time I was probably 5, so it was never done because it was prohibited, it was rather fun to get a load on when I got older. My cousin & I got into Grandpa's home brew one time, they found us both passed out in the basement after 1 bottle together That's what boys did in farming communities: work, drink, fight & chase the chicks.

Probably 35 years ago I was fighting a speeding ticket, the guy in front of me was in with his 9th DUI - in a 2 year time frame - the judge gave him a suspended sentence.

Maybe we could have the education system teach Responsible Drinking, as they do such a great job teaching Sex Ed. Just kidding

I really don't care what age the government choose to define adulthood. I just want it to be the same for all things - drinking, smoking, voting, military, ear piercing, driving, independence from parents - college funding, abortion, insurance, and murder. I have a hard time keeping track all these different age limits. Make my job as a parent of a teenager and a twenty year old easier.

I really don't care what age the government choose to define adulthood. I just want it to be the same for all things - drinking, smoking, voting, military, ear piercing, driving, independence from parents - college funding, abortion, insurance, and murder. I have a hard time keeping track all these different age limits. Make my job as a parent of a teenager and a twenty year old easier.
Wishing I lived in La La Land.
Terri

21. I was a young cop when Maryland lowered the age to 18. We had more bar fights, destruction of property and such that was related to drinking then was reasonable. When they finally retreated and raised it back to 21, the call volumns went down related to alcohol.

I would certainely agree that lowering the age would probably cause some short term wildness. Instead of dipping their toes first, and then slowely wading into the alcohol, the newely liberated would tend to cannonball or swan dive in (very poetic no?). But I think that as the generations go on this effect would be diminished.

I still thibk that it is imperitve that this is learned at home; when a person turns 16 their parents don't hand them the keys and say "have fun", when most people can legally purchase a firearm at 18 they generally have some previous experience and knowledge of saftey practices (this isn't always the case but I would tend to belive this is what is most typical).

Article [I.]
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Article [II.]
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.